NAIROBI (Somaliguardian) – Djibouti’s security forces placed the country’s army and police chiefs under house arrest on suspicion of plotting a coup to seize power, nearly a year after President Ismail Omar Ghuelleh won a fifth five-year term in an election boycotted by most of the opposition, Caasimada Online Somali news website reported on Tuesday.
Djiboutian Police chief Zakariye Sheikh Ibrahim and Army boss Abdillahi Farah were put under house arrest and troops were instructed to surround their residences after the President received a warning that a coup attempt was imminent.
Colonel Abdillah Farah has reportedly been suspended on suspicion of being part of coup conspirators and cabinet has approved the decision. Former Djiboutian Minister of Budget Bode Mohamed Bode is also said to be among people under house arrest amid an ongoing investigation.
Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Ghuelleh, who has been in office since 1999, won a fifth five-year term in an election boycotted by opposition in April last year, securing more than 97% of the votes cast. Reports of the suspected coup plot come after putschists took over power in several African countries over the past years.
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